Strawberry Wine

I can’t believe it’s finally here! As of today, I am officially a published author. EEP!!!

But I had lots of help getting here. First, I’d like to thank Kensington Publishing and Wattpad for providing this amazing opportunity. Without them, I can honestly say publishing would have never happened. I’d also like to thank the countless authors I’ve met and wonderful friends I’ve made along the way. Their consistent kindness and support encouraged me to pursue my dream. And finally, my deepest gratitude, respect and love goes out to every person who has read my book, including my oldest and dearest friends and family. If it weren’t for you, Strawberry Wine would still be a story stuck in my head. THANK YOU all from the bottom of my heart!

How do you know if a first love is made to last?

Addison Monroe was eighteen when she fell for Jake Grady, a college student working on her family’s farm for the summer. With his sapphire eyes and killer smile, Jake could have had any girl in Lakeside, Georgia. But he wanted Addy, and for those brief, wonderful months—before circumstances drove them irrevocably apart—they belonged to each other.

Ten years later, Addy is engaged to a doctor and working in Atlanta as a physician’s assistant. Life feels full and satisfying. Yet memories of that long-ago summer and wine-flavored kisses are hard to shake. On a return visit to Lakeside, Addy crosses paths with Jake again, and soon finds herself at an unexpected crossroads. So much has changed, and Addy has chosen another route. And the magic of first love can never be rekindled…can it?

Available now and please feel free to share with your romance-loving friends! 🙂

When I was younger, I used to borrow books from the library. No, no — I don’t mean check them out with my library card. I mean borrow them. You know: stuff one inside my book bag before anyone noticed, smuggle it out of the library and into my house then read it underneath the privacy of my covers by the dim yellow glow of a flashlight swiped from my father’s work bench. When I put the book up for the night, I’d carefully conceal it underneath my mattress where my parents would never find it. And when I finally finished it, I’d return it to its rightful place on the library shelf and find another.

Borrow, read, return, and repeat.

What genre was I so secretive about? Romance, of course. Something eleven-year-old me wasn’t allowed to read, and something adult me still can’t get enough of.

On January 31st, 2017, my very own romance novel will be sitting on book store shelves. True story! But between you and me, I never intended to publish. Not that I didn’t want to. It had always been something I’d fantasized about, even as a child. I just didn’t think something like that could ever happen to someone like me. So when I wrote Strawberry Wine, I wrote it for me. I wrote it for the story that played over and over inside my head every time I heard the song by the same name on the radio, performed by country singer Deana Carter. I never actually thought anyone would read it! And now, as I contemplate my second published novel, I’m left to wonder: what makes a great romance? Here are my thoughts:

The main ingredient is … you guessed it. Romance. Romance has to be the main plot. Not just sex. I mean, sex is good. Very good. But I want the whole will they or won’t they end up together? I want the slow burn of infatuation that inevitably builds into a raging inferno of love (so cheesy, I know!).

I want meaningful connections with secondary characters. They help make the story more believable. And above all else, authenticity is a must. Secondary characters give the story depth and can be an excellent way to introduce a bit of contrast or comedy. Even tragedy, if you must.

I want conflict. Not in real life, of course, but in books. The best way to do this is to make sure at least one of your main characters is fighting the relationship. Do they have a history of failed affairs? Are they damaged in some way? Suffering from a horrific loss? Is the romance forbidden? Internal conflict is more important than external conflict (and yes, you need both) because the reader needs to be left wondering will they or won’t they end up together? It’s especially successful if the internal conflict and the external conflict come into play simultaneously. It gets me every single time!

Perfection is for chumps! I don’t want perfect characters, I want them to be flawed. I want them to be human; to be real. I want them to make mistakes and I want consequences to their actions. Imperfect characters make for better storytelling, and writers want readers to experience emotions through the characters they’ve created. Not only that, but by the end of the story, your characters need to have grown. They can’t grow if they have no weakness.

I, myself, want that happy ending. At least in a romance. It’s a must! By the end of the book, I want to have fallen in love with the couple and their journey, and I want them to end up together. But this isn’t always the case. A happy ending isn’t guaranteed, and some readers are okay with that. It’s all a matter of personal preference. Happy endings are mine. What’s yours?

These are what make a good romance for me, but what makes a good romance for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Log onto Goodreadsnow through December 14th,2016 and sign up for your chance to win one of 25 copies! Thank you, and best of luck!

Strawberry Wine

by Darly Jamison

How do you know if a first love is made to last?
Addison Monroe was eighteen when she fell for Jake Grady, a college student working on her family’s farm for the summer. With his sapphire eyes and killer smile, Jake could have had any girl in Lakeside, Georgia. But he wanted Addy, and for those brief, wonderful months—before circumstances drove them irrevocably apart—they belonged to each other.

Ten years later, Addy is engaged to a doctor and working in Atlanta as a physician’s assistant. Life feels full and satisfying. Yet memories of that long-ago summer and wine-flavored kisses are hard to shake. On a return visit to Lakeside, Addy crosses paths with Jake again, and soon finds herself at an unexpected crossroads. So much has changed, and Addy has chosen another route. And the magic of first love can never be rekindled…can it?

After months of waiting, I am thrilled to share with you the new cover of STRAWBERRY WINE! Thank you Kensington Publishing, it’s absolutely beautiful!

Available for preorder now! In bookstores January 31, 2017!

About the Book:

How do you know if a first love is made to last?

Addison Monroe was eighteen when she fell for Jake Grady, a college student working on her family’s farm for the summer. With his sapphire eyes and killer smile, Jake could have had any girl in Lakeside, Georgia. But he wanted Addy, and for those brief, wonderful months—before circumstances drove them irrevocably apart—they belonged to each other.

Ten years later, Addy is engaged to a doctor and working in Atlanta as a physician’s assistant. Life feels full and satisfying. Yet memories of that long-ago summer and wine-flavored kisses are hard to shake. On a return visit to Lakeside, Addy crosses paths with Jake again, and soon finds herself at an unexpected crossroads. So much has changed, and Addy has chosen another route. And the magic of first love can never be rekindled…can it?

This summer’s fiesta takes place the entire month of August so mark your calendars now — you heard right, the ENTIRE month of August — and will feature some of Wattpad’s most active writers. USA TODAY Bestsellers, Wattpad Stars and a whole bunch of up-and-comers! It’s gonna be awesome sauce (did I seriously just say that?!)! Did I mention there will be TONS of giveaways? I’m thinking I’ll write another bonus chapter for STRAWBERRY WINE from yummy Jake Grady’s point-of-view, what do you think? I just love getting inside that sexy cowboy’s head!

In other news, I took part in my very first LIVE Ask Me Anything and received tons of great questions from readers and friends like YOU! Did you miss it? Don’t fret! It’s all right HERE for your viewing pleasure (please ignore the unflattering still shots and overuse of the word ‘um’)!

Who wants a cover reveal? I do! I do! I’m waiting patiently for the go-ahead to share the brand new, unbelievably adorable cover of STRAWBERRY WINE! Kensington Publishing tells me it will be soon, along with the PRE-ORDER SALE! What? Did she just say PRE-ORDER SALE?! I sure as heck did. Can you believe it? It’s happening. It’s actually happening! I’m still pinching myself. Huh, that must be why this unsightly bruise won’t go away.

Let’s see … what else? Oh, yes! I’m working on more stories to add to Wattpad! I’m pretty sure the next one up will be my horror/psychological thriller/like THE SECRET on crack called DOWN CAME THE RAIN! Take a look at this cover:

Don’t forget to sign up for my email list for your chance to win FREE STUFF! And if you would kindly ‘like’ my Facebook author’s page I would ever so grateful!

So, I’m counting down the mere hours until I head to my very first writers’ conference. And while I should be feeling like this:

I’m feeling more like this:

Don’t get me wrong. I am super—and I mean super—excited to have the opportunity to attend. Seriously, this is a dream come true. There are going to be so many talented authors there, authors whose books I’ve obsessed, and in some cases, down-right drooled over.

And then there will be me.

Gulp.

I will be flying into Las Vegas and stepping foot inside my very first convention one year to the day that I found out my story Strawberry Wine would be published. One year to the day. Woah. Talk about a crazy coincidence. And when I think about how much my life has changed over the past twelve months, I’m left speechless.

I’ve been told I’ll have a blast, and I am quite certain I will … especially since I’ll be meeting some writing friends (who I have only corresponded with online) for the very first time face to face. That alone is surreal.

But what have I gotten myself into? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared out of my mind.

I have no idea what to expect. None. But I do have my business cards. Can you believe it? Me … with business cards? I never would have guessed I would need business cards. I also have an itinerary: meet as many people as I can. I’m in the mindset to make connections. Networking equals knowledge, and I am prepared to soak it all in.

One thing I do know is that if it weren’t for Wattpad and Kensington Publishing I wouldn’t be facing this new experience at all. The amount of gratitude I feel toward them, my family for supporting me, my friends for their consistent encouragement and the lovely people who call themselves my “readers” takes my breath away.

So, to those of you I have mentioned … thank you. This is a gift not many people are given but for some crazy, wonderful reason I have received.

The summer edition of the Wattpad Block Party is starting to wind down—have you mingled with your favorite authors yet?

I was invited to participate in this epic event created by USA TODAY Best Selling Author Kelly Anne Blount. My post was featured earlier this month, but it’s not too late to check it out! Just click here to read my Strawberry Wine Bonus Chapter! Plus I’m giving away a strawberry charm necklace to one lucky reader in honor of my debut novel Strawberry Wine! Click the link to enter (it’s totally free) Free Giveaway! Deadline to participate is July 31, 2015, winners will be selected shortly thereafter. Enter now before it’s too late!

Life has been a bit crazy since my story Strawberry Wine won the grand prize, and I've been hard at work revising my debut novel. It's available now for preorder and will be in book stores everywhere January 31st, 2017. I hope you will join me for this exciting journey!